"Lo Hsing Han or
Law Sit Han (Burmese: လော်စစ်ဟန်, IPA: [lɔ̀
sɪʔ hàɴ]; simplified Chinese: 罗星汉; traditional Chinese: 羅星漢;
pinyin: Luó Xīnghàn;
ca. 1930s – July 6, 2013) was a Burmese drug trafficker and became a
major Burmese business tycoon, with financial ties to Singapore. He
was an ethnic Kokang (果敢族 /
ကိုးကန့်လူမျိုး).[6]
His spouse, Zhang Xiaowen, is a Chinese citizen and native of Gengma
County (耿马傣族佤族自治县) in Yunnan (云南).

Rise and fall

Lo was born poor in Kokang
district (ကိုးကန
/果敢).[7]
Lo reportedly started his opium-trafficking career as chief of a
local militia called Ka Kwe Ye (KKY)[8]
set up with the encouragement of General Ne Win (1910/11 - 2002) to
fight the Communists.[9]
By the early 1970s he was an important figure in the Asian drug
trade, particularly in the trafficking of 'China White' heroin.[3]
In August 1973, he was arrested in Thailand and handed over to the
Burmese government.[10]
He was sentenced to death for treason on the grounds of his brief
association with the insurgent Shan State Army (SSA, ရှမ်းပြည် တပ်မတော်).
He was released in the 1980.He was close friends with the Myanmar
military intelligence officer ,Steven Howy General Amnesty.[9]

Comeback

When the Kokang and Wa
insurgent (佤邦 / ဝပြည်နယ်)
troops mutinied and toppled the Communist leadership in 1989,
military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt (ခင်ညွန့်,
1939 - ) found in Lo a useful
intermediary in quickly arranging cease-fire agreements and, in
return, Lo was given lucrative business opportunities and unofficial
permission to run drugs with impunity along with the mutineers. He
wasted no time in rebuilding the drug empire he lost 15 years ago to
Khun Sa (ခွန်ဆာ / 張奇夫 / จันทร์ จาง ตระกูล, 1934 - 2007), a rival KKY
chief of Loi Maw. No fewer than 17 new heroin refineries were
located within a year in Kokang State and adjacent areas.[9]

Leading entrepreneur

In June 1992, he founded the
Asia World Company, allegedly as a front for his drug operations.
His son, Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing / ထွန်းမြင့်နိုင် / 羅平忠,
1958/60 - ), married to Cecilia Ng of Singapore in 1996, runs
the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the
construction and energy sectors.[9][11]
In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, in February 2008, the US government
included Lo, his son, and daughter-in-law, along with the 10
companies they control in Singapore, in its targeted sanctions list
of the military junta's business cronies.[12]

According to a report in
The Observer, he helped organize the opulent 2006 wedding of
the daughter of the Burmese dictator Than Shwe (သန်းရွှေ,
1933 - ).[13]

Asia World Company is
involved in a number of mega projects such as a Sino-Burma oil and
gas pipeline project (中缅油气管道), a deep sea port at Kyaukpyu (ကျောက်ဖြူမြို့),
the controversial Myitsone hydro-power plant (မြစ်ဆုံ
တာတမံ) and the
Tasang hydro-power plant (တာဆန်းဆည်).
Companies of the Chinese government have investments in all of them.
While Steven Law oversees the business interests in Myanmar, his
other sons are based in Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan doing
business. Steven Law accompanied Thein Sein (သိန်းစိန်,
1945 - ) during his first official foreign visit to China
after inauguration as a civilian president.[14]

Death

Lo died on 6 July 2013, in Yangon (ရန်ကုန်), Myanmar.[15]
He was 80 [note 1] and is
survived by his wife, four sons, four daughters and 16 grandchildren."

"Chin Peng (Chinese: 陳平; pinyin: Chén Píng),
former OBE,[1][dubious– discuss] (21 October 1924 – 16
September 2013[2]) born Ong Boon
Hua (Chinese: 王文華;
pinyin: Wáng Wénhuá)
was a long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP, 马来亚共产党 / Parti Komunis Malaya). A determined
anti-colonialist, he led the party's guerrilla insurgency in the Malayan
Emergency, fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to
establish an independent communist state. After the MCP's defeat and subsequent
Malayan independence, Chin waged a campaign against Malaya and, after 1963, the
new state of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a communist
one from exile, until signing a peace accord with the Malaysian government in
1989.

Chin Peng died at the age of 88, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Prior to his death, he was living in exile in Thailand and had not been
permitted to return to Malaysia contrary to one of the conditions of the 1989
peace agreement.

BiographyEarly years

Chin Peng was born on 21 October 1924, into a middle class
family who gave him the name Ong Boon Hua, in the small seaside town of
Sitiawan, in Perak state (ڨيرق,), Malaya. His father had come to the town in 1920 and
started a bicycle, tyre and spare motor parts business with the help of a
relative from Singapore.[3] He
attended a Chinese language school in Sitiawan. In 1937 he joined the Chinese
Anti Enemy Backing Up Society (AEBUS), formed that year to send aid to China
in response to Japan's aggression. According to Chin and Hack, he was not yet at
that time a communist.[4] He was in
charge of anti-Japanese activities at his school. Initially a supporter of Sun
Yat-sen (孫逸仙,
1866 - 1925), by early 1939 he had embraced Communism. He planned to go to Yan'an
(延安),
the renowned communist base in China, but was persuaded to remain in Malaya and
take on heavier responsibilities for the party there.

In late 1939, by which time Chin had completed his study
up to Senior Middle One, his school announced that the Senior Middle section was
to be closed due to lack of money. He chose to continue his education in the
Methodist-run Anglo-Chinese Continuation School (英华学校), which operated in English,
because it provided a good cover for his underground activities and because it
was local so he would not have to move to Singapore for schooling. However after
six months he left the school "for fear of British harassment".
[5] Once out of school, he
concentrated on his political activities and became, from that point on, a
full-time revolutionary. In January 1940 he had been put in charge of three
anti-Japanese organisations that had a scope beyond the schools; they were for
students, teachers, other cultural members and shop assistants. At the end of
January 1940 he was admitted to the Malayan Communist Party as a candidate
member. [6]

Harassment by the authorities led him to leave his home
town for Kuala Kangsar (كوالا
كڠسر) in July 1940. (This may be the same movement as his
leaving school, referred to above). Later he spent a month in Taiping. In
September 1940 the party posted him to Ipoh (إڤوه) as Standing committee member for
Perak. In December he attained full Party membership.

In early 1941 AEBUS was dissolved. Chin Peng became Ipoh
District committee member of the Party. "He led student underground cells of
three Chinese secondary schools and the Party's organisations of the shop
assistants, domestic servants of European families, workers at brick kilns and
barbers." [6]
In June 1941 he became a member of the Perak State Committee.

Rise to prominence

Chin Peng rose to prominence during World War II when many
Chinese Malayans took to the jungle to fight a guerrilla war against the
Japanese. These fighters, inspired by the example of the Communist Party of
China (中国共产党), became known as the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). Chin
Peng became the liaison officer between the MPAJA and the British military in
South-East Asia.

The Japanese invasion of Malaya began in December 1941. In
1942 Chin was the junior of three members of the Secretariat of the Perak State
Committee: Su Yew Meng was secretary and Chang Meng Ching (hanyan pinyin:
Zhang Ming Jin) was the other member. In early 1943 the two senior members were
captured by the Japanese, which left Chin Peng in charge. Contact with the
Party's Central Committee had been lost; he attempted to re-establish it,
travelling to Kuala Lumpur (‏كوالا لومڤور‎) and meeting Chai Ker Meng. Later Lai Tek, the Party
leader, sent another Central Committee member, Lee Siow Peng (Siao Ping), to
replace Chin as State Secretary. However, Lee Siow Peng was captured not long
after, while travelling to a meeting that was to be held in Singapore.

It was thus that the job of establishing contact with the
British commando Force 136 fell to Chin Peng. The first party of that force,
consisting of Capt. John Davis and five Chinese agents, had been landed in
Malaya on 24 May 1943, by submarine. Chin Peng made contact with this armed
group on 30 September 1943. He was active in his support for the British
stay-behind troops, but had no illusions about their failure to protect Malaya
against the Japanese. In the course of this activity, he came into contact with
Freddie Spencer Chapman (1907 - 1971), who called him a 'true friend' in his Malayan jungle
memoir, 'The Jungle Is Neutral'.

Because of his services during the war, Chin was awarded
an OBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire ) [dubious– discuss] (subsequently withdrawn by
the British government), a mention in despatches and two campaign medals by
Britain. He was elected the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Malaya
after the betrayal of previous leader Lai Tek (1901 - 1947) who turned out to be an agent for
both the British and the Japanese and had denounced the leadership of the Party
to the Japanese secret police (Kempaitai
- 憲兵隊). Chin Peng was the most senior surviving member.

The Emergency

The Malayan colonial administration declared a state of
emergency on 16 June 1948 after members of the Communist Party of Malaya killed
three European plantation managers at Sungei Siput. The CPM was banned in July.
Many Singaporean historians and anti-communists allege that Chin Peng ordered
the killings. Chin Peng claims he had no prior knowledge. In fact, he says he
was so unprepared for the start of hostilities that he barely escaped arrest,
losing his passport in the process, and he lost touch with the Party for a
couple of days.[7]

The resulting civil war became known as the Malayan
Emergency which lasted for twelve years until 1960. Chin Peng withdrew to
southern Thailand with the remnants of his forces during the latter part of the
Emergency as a result of security force pressure and at the end of 1960 moved to
Beijing, which became his base for many years. In 1960 he wished to give up the
armed struggle, but was told by Deng Xiaoping (邓小平,
1904 - 1997) that South-East Asia was ripe for revolution. The CPM maintained a theoretical armed struggle for
decades after.

The death toll climbed into the thousands. Those
sympathetic to Chin Peng tend to portray the violence perpetrated by the CPM as
defensive, while right-wing opponents tend to portray it as aggressive and
unethical. Some have claimed the large number of civilian casualties was in
contrast to the stance adopted by Mao Zedong (毛泽东,
1893 - 1976) and his policy of the Eight Points
of Attention (八项注意).

In 1970 the CPM's guerrilla bases in Thailand were
convulsed by the trials and executions of supposed spies. Two breakaway factions
were formed which condemned the purge. Chin Peng, who was then based in China,
has denied involvement and later rehabilitated his accused comrades.[8]

The CPM laid down its arms in 1989. On 2 December of that
year, at the town of Had Yai (หาดใหญ่)
in Southern Thailand, Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin and
Abdullah CD (Cik Dat bin Anjang Abdullah, 1923 - ) met with representatives of the Malaysian and Thai governments.
Separate peace agreements were signed between the MCP and both governments. One
of the terms of the agreement was that MCP members of Malayan origin be allowed
to return to live in Malaysia.

Chin Peng lived in exile
in southern Thailand and also gave lectures at the National University of
Singapore. At the beginning of 2000, he applied to be permitted to enter
Malaysia. This was rejected by the High Court on 25 July 2005. In June 2008,
Chin Peng again lost his bid to return to Malaysia when the Court of Appeal
upheld an earlier ruling that compelled him to show identification papers to
prove his citizenship. Chin Peng maintained that his birth certificate was
seized by the police during a raid in 1948. His counsel Raja Aziz Addruse
(1936 – 2011) had
submitted before the Court of Appeal that it was wrong for the Malaysian
government to compel him to produce the documents, because he was entitled to
enter and live in Malaysia by virtue of the agreement.

Death

Chin Peng died at the age of 88 on the morning of 16
September 2013, in a hospital in Bangkok.

Media portrayal

In 2006, a documentary film about Chin Peng was made called
The Last Communist (Lelaki
Komunis Terakhir). It was banned by Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry.

Abb.: Filmplakat
[Bildquelle: Wikipedia. -- Fair use]

Chronology

22 October 1924: Birth.

January 1940: Accepted as probationary member of the
Communist Party of Malaya (CPM); put in charge of Communist members in
Sitiawan.

4 July 1940: Leaves home.

December 1941: Communists' offer of help accepted;
joins the fight against the Japanese.

10 January 1942: The first batch of the Malayan
Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA).

1942: Meets future wife, Khoon Wah.

1945: World War II ends.

January 1946: Awarded 2 war medals; boycotts tour of
British bases; forced to sign letter of apology.

Mid-October 1946: In Penang, Yeung Kuo reveals that
Lai Teck has betrayed the CPM; Lai Teck subsequently absconds with most of
party's money.

6 March 1947: MCP Central Executive Committee meeting
held to deal with Lai Teck controversy; Lai Teck fails to appear and is
never seen by MCP again. Later, Chin Peng is elected secretary-general of
MCP.

Late 1950: Briggs arrives in Malaya and implements "Brigg's
plan" – resettling people into "New Villages". If the people refused to move,
the British would forcibly remove them and sometimes burn down their houses.
This made it difficult for the Communists to gain food supplies from the
"Min Yuen", their supporters in the villages.

6 October 1951: Sir Henry Gurney
(geb. 1898), British High
Commissioner in Malaya, is assassinated on Gap road to Fraser's Hill by Siew
Ma. It was a "chance" ambush by Siew Ma and his party and not a plan to
assassinate Gurney.

7 February 1952: Sir Gerald Templer
(1898 - 1979), arrives to take
the place of Gurney, and implements harsh measures against the Communists.

28 December 1955: Baling Talks held with David
Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman, unsuccessful because of surrender terms.
After the Baling Talks, Chin Peng retires to Thailand. Ah Hai replaces him
as acting Secretary-General in Malaya.

1960: The Emergency is officially declared at an end.
However, fighting still continues. Special Malaysian government troops going
by the name "Senoi Praaq" prove to be a thorn in Chin Peng's side.

2 December 1989: A peace treaty is signed between the
communists, Thailand and Malaysia. The long, hard war the British had
preferred to term an Emergency was over.

6–8 October 2004: Chin Peng visits Singapore for 3
days to speak at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies (ISEAS).

2005: Chin Peng is pending to return to Malaysia. His
hearing was scheduled for 25 May 2005, and the High Court postponed it to 25
July 2005. This application was subsequently rejected.

June 2008: Chin Peng's lost his bid to return to
Malaysia when the Court of Appeal demanded he showed identification papers
to prove his Malayan citizenship.

16 September 2013: Chin Peng died at a hospital in
Bangkok. He was 90. According to the Bangkok Post, he was pronounced dead at
6.20am (GMT+8)."

Kupluthai Pungkanon: The wisdom of the dead.
-- In: The Nation. -- 2013-10-01

Abb.: Funerary booklet (หนังสืออนุสรณ์งานศพ),
1963

"Funerary booklets [หนังสืออนุสรณ์งานศพ] are valuable historical
sources, as well as loving mementoes of the deceased.

The Thai tradition of distributing memorial
booklets at funerals dates back to 1880, when King Rama V published
a dharma prayer book for the cremation of Queen Sunandha
Kumariratana [สุนันทากุมารีรัตน์,
1860 - 1880]. However, the cremation memorial books have never been
the profitable business they are now.

The books' history was the subject of another engaging talk last
week at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre,
hosted in collaboration with National Library of Thailand.

Little known outside Thailand, cremation keepsake books collectively
form a substantial history, covering not just the biography of the
deceased - including many famous people - but also significant
information about their times. Printed only for the friends and
family attending the funeral, they are not available in public
bookstores, and thus appeal to collectors for their academic value.

During the talk "The Charm of Cremation Memorial Book", Professor Dr
Attachak Sattayanurak [อรรถจกร สตยานรกษ] of the
Chiang Mai University History Department explained how the
memorial books comprise an important facet to society's collective
memory.

"These books were introduced at a time when most Thais were poor and
poorly educated," he noted. "They're given away freely as a way of
making merit, but they also have practical value.

"They're usually divided into two parts - the biography, which
underlines the prestige of the deceased in the community, and
general knowledge about the community and Buddhist teachings like
the rules of karma. There are also usually prayers and often recipes
for favourite dishes and information about the ailment from which
the person died, along with advice on how to deal with it."

From 1947 to 1977, as the middle class expanded, funeral booklets
tended to focus on the prestige of the deceased, including their
royal decorations. A mourning message became popular, along with
Buddhist teachings, such as the sermons of Buddhadasa [พุทธทาสภิกขุ,
1906 - 1993], and essays
about health concerns.

Since 1977, "how to" content - regarding health, cooking and the
special interests of the deceased have been more common.

Rare-book collector Thongchai Likitpornsuwan is more interested in
the biographical aspects of the books. "I find many of the books
very impressive, especially in terms of history," he said, citing an
anecdote he discovered about a palace employee becoming angry with a
prince and pushing all of his toys away from the boy. "Information
like this you can't find anywhere else. Information about "Phra
Rachabithi 12 Duens" [พระราชพิธีสิบสองเดือน], written by King Rama V, is among the classical
knowledge reprinted in the memorial books."

Thongchai and other collectors looks for such treasures the stalls
specialising in antique books in the Tha Tian [ตลาดท่าเตียน], Tha Chang
[ตลาดท่าช้าง], Worachak
[ตลาดวรจักร] and
Chatuchak markets [ตลาดจตุจักร], at book fairs and online. The price can be
thousands of baht depending on the content, the book's age,
condition and craftsmanship, and the fame of the deceased. The keen
interest in getting copies of the funeral book of General Khattiya
Sawasdipol [ขัตติยะ สวัสดิผล,
1951 - 2010] made headlines recently. Seh Daeng
[เสธ แดง], as he was known, was
the red-shirt leader assassinated in 2010.

Obviously there is money to be made from cremation books. Some
people are paid specifically to attend funerals and get the books,
and the printing shops dedicated to keepsake books are booming. They
offer the next of kin a variety of templates to choose among,
complete with blank pages for the personalised information about the
deceased.

Associate Professor Srisak Wallipodom [ศรีศักร
วัลลิโภดม], an anthropologist, said he
has learned a great deal from cremation books. "The tradition became
widespread as a way of giving those in attendance a souvenir that
celebrated the social status of the deceased," he said. "In the past
the content focused more on the history of the community, with
travelogues, poems and the local traditions. Today that's all
changed."

The change that Srisak doesn't appreciate is having monetary value
attached to the booklets, creating a business based on profits.

It's been said that Buddhism appealed to so many people at the
outset because it addresses death more frankly, and at length. The
funeral books are not just a tribute to the dead and a means of
making merit, but they have practical value as well - as a
remarkable source of knowledge."

"The usage of the word
Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity. The usage of
the word will cause confusion in the community."

So der vorsitzende Richter
Mohamed Apandi Ali.

2013-10-23 - 2014-05-24

People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) or
People's Committee for Absolute Democracy with the King as Head of State
(PCAD)
(คณะกรรมการประชาชนเพื่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงประเทศไทยให้เป็นประชาธิปไตยที่สมบูรณ์
อันมีพระมหากษัตริย์ทรงเป็นประมุข, กปปส., literally "people's
committee for changing Thailand into a complete democracy with the king as
head of state")

"The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) or People's
Committee for Absolute Democracy with the King as Head of State (PCAD)[7][8]
(Thai:
คณะกรรมการประชาชนเพื่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงประเทศไทยให้เป็นประชาธิปไตยที่สมบูรณ์
อันมีพระมหากษัตริย์ทรงเป็นประมุข, กปปส., literally "people's
committee for changing Thailand into a complete democracy with the king as
head of state") was an umbrella
political pressure group in
Thailand,[7]
aimed at removing the
influence of former premier
Thaksin Shinawatra (ทักษิณ
ชินวัตร, 1949 - ) from Thai politics and achieve political reforms by
an unelected 'People's Council'.[9]
The group played a leading role in the
2013–14 Thai political crisis, organising large-scale protests within
Bangkok.

The group was formed on 29 November 2013 by protest leader and former
Democrat Party (พรรคประชาธิปัตย์) MP
Suthep Thaugsuban (สุเทพ
เทือกสุบรรณ, 1949 - ), who appointed himself as secretary-general.[9]
The movement was supported by various organisations including the Democrat
Party, the
People's Alliance for Democracy (พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย) (a coalition of opposition to Thaksin),
student activist groups, state worker's unions and pro-military groups.[4]
The PDRC's support stemmed mostly from affluent Bangkokians and Southerners.[10]
Whistle-blowing was a central symbol of the protests.[11]

By accusing the government of lacking any legitimacy, Suthep Thaugsuban
announced the intention of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee to take
back sovereign power from the government and proceed with national reform
through a non-elected royalist council, in order to "eradicate" the "Thaksin
regime".[12][13]
Suthep outlined plans for the council to "act as a legislative body, amend
laws and regulations, as well as carry out a reform plan in the country".[14]
He also explained the council would have 400 members, 300 of whom would be
representatives from various professions. The remaining 100 would be
selected by the PDRC from scholars and well-respected senior citizens.[15][16]

The ultimate goal of the PDRC was to have the prime minister
Yingluck Shinawatra (ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, 1967
- ) resign as the head of the
caretaker government[17]
in order to allow a
power vacuum[18]
then invoke article 3[text
1] and article 7[text
2] of the
2007 Constitution.[19][20]
This would have allowed the head of the senate to appoint a new premier.
Yingluck and nine other senior ministers were removed from office by
Constitutional Court on 7 May 2014. The military then seized power in a
coup d'état on 22 May, a move which was applauded by many PDRC
protesters.[21]
The PDRC was disbanded shortly after the coup.[1]

Formation and Role in 2013-14 Political Crisis

Thai politics has been characterized by shows of popular force; mass
yellow-shirt (เสื้อเหลือง)
protests immediately preceded the
2006 coup, and a red-shirt rally that engulfed central Bangkok
in 2010 was violently crushed with more than 80 civilians killed and
around 2,000 injured. After three consecutive election victories for various
Thaksin-backed political parties, the newly formed People's Democratic
Reform Committee, a coalition of yellow-shirt groups that loathe the ruling
Pheu Thai party decide to take their fight to the streets of Bangkok.[22]
The object of their ire is a proposed amnesty bill aimed to reconcile
differences between both groups that would have pardoned Thai politicians
Abhisit Vejjajiva (อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ,
1964 - ),
Suthep Thaugsuban over murder charges.[23]
However, protesters believe that it could be a backdoor attempt to allow
Thaksin Shinawatra to return home after a self-imposed exile without
facing a corruption conviction.[24]
After opposition from both the
Democrat Party and parts of the pro-government
Red Shirt movement (เสื้อแดง)
the bill was rejected unanimously by the
Senate of Thailand on 11 November.[25]

On 20 November the
Constitutional Court ruled that a government-proposed amendment to the
2007 constitution that would have made the Senate a fully elected body
was invalid.[26][27]
Prime Minister Yingluck dissolved the Thai parliament following the
recommencement of protests and announced a new election in accordance with
the Thai constitution. The constitution states that elections must be held
45 to 60 days from the date that parliament is dissolved. The People's
Democratic Reform Committee opposed the election announcement and stated
that it would boycott the process.

Despite the private sector,[28]
military[29]
and caretaker government[30]
attempt to find a solution to the crisis, The PDRC leader said he would not
negotiate with the government or the military or any mediator but he would
fight until the people achieve PDRC's goal to have a royally appointed
people council to conduct reform before the election to eradicate the "Thaksin
regime".[31][32]

Organizations aligned with the PDRC

The
Democrat Party,
conservative and
royalist backed by the military and most of the Bangkok-based elite
with also strong support in south Thailand.[2][33][34]

The Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (NSPRT),
the PDRC hardline faction under the leadership of Nithithorn Lamleua and
Uthai Yodmanee.[3][35]

The
People’s Alliance for Democracy or "Yellow shirt" rebranded as the
"People’s Movement to Overthrow the Thaksin Regime" (Pefot).[4]
The PAD consists of mainly of royalist upper and middle-class
Bangkokians and
Southerners, supported by some factions of the
Thai Army, some leaders of
Democrat Party, and members of state-enterprise labor unions.[36][37]
The PAD was responsible for the seizure of
Suvarnabhumi International Airport in 2008.

The Dharma Army, led by former
Palang Dharma Party (พรรคพลังธรรม) leader Major General
Chamlong Srimuang (จำลอง ศรีเมือง,
1935 - ) and a key leader of the
People’s Alliance for Democracy. The Dharma army is a network of
foundations and associations, the most know is the
Santi Asoke Buddhist sect.[5][38]

"Rubbish Collection Organisation" founded by Rienthong Nanna
(director of Mongkutwattana General Hospital) that aims at persecuting
citizens who — in their view — do not respect the monarchy sufficiently.[39][40][41][42]
The rhetoric of this ultra-royalist vigilante group[43]
has induced fear of a potential "witch-hunt" on dissenters.[44]
Their likening of opponents to "trash" has been condemned as
dehumanising by
Human Rights Watch and the
Simon Wiesenthal Center's dean Abraham Cooper.[45]

Pipob Thongchai (พิภพ ธงไชย,
1945 - ),[48]
advisor to the PDRC; education reform activist (Foundation for
Children), former PAD core leader, former leader of the Campaign for
Popular Democracy, co-leader of the
Black May uprising 1992

"The original survey methodology aimed to interview 250 respondents in the two
political activist groups: 250 PDRC [People’s Democratic Reform Committe
-
คณะกรรมการประชาชนเพื่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงประเทศไทยให้เป็นประชาธิปไตยที่สมบูรณ์
อันมีพระมหากษัตริย์ทรงเป็นประมุข, กปปส.] demonstrators in each of the five rally
locations around Bangkok; and 250 red shirts [เสื้อแดง] assembled in Ratchamangkla National
Stadium [สนามราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน]. Over the course of the day on November 30, as the intensity of the political gatherings increased, the security situation at the PDRC rally sites and the neighborhood surrounding Ratchamangkla Stadium deteriorated. The security situation
prompted supervisors to suspend or cancel data collection in certain areas to ensure the safety of the enumerators.
As a result of security concerns, enumerators were only able to complete 315 of the 500 interviews planned: 161 at Ratchamangkla Stadium and 154 at four of the five anti-government rally sites (Ratchadamnoen
Road [ถนนราชดำเนิน],
the Government Complex at Cheang Wattana [แจ้งวัฒนะ],
the Department of Special Investigations, and the Ministry of
Finance).

Since the red shirt assembly filled Ratchamangkla Stadium, the size
of the gathering was estimated at 60,000, corresponding to the
capacity of the stadium. Available estimates for crowd size at the various PDRC rally sites on November 30 are few in number, and those that do exist vary significantly. Based on available estimates and an examination of photographic images of the rallies taken on that day, an assembly of 6,000demonstratorsin each of the four sampled PDRC sites would be a reasonable
estimate. These estimates of the number of people in the respective political gatherings are adequate for sampling design purposes, since the intended sample size was small. A sample of 250 for each gathering, when
randomly chosen, is effective in estimating the population parameters, since the population size is relatively large and individuals in the crowd are unknown.

The methodology applied
was designed to maximize the randomness of the sample. Enumerators were instructed to plan a serpentine path through the entire physical area of the
demonstrations to account for the fact that groups of protestors travelling from various locations might be concentrated in one area. To further randomize the sample and
avoid selection bias, enumerators followed a skip pattern (every 20people) to
select individual respondents at Ratchamangkla Stadium and in the four
PDRC sites. Taking into account the final sample size achieved for the
PDRC and red shirt gatherings, the margin of error for both samples is approximately 8% at a confidence level of 95%.As indicated in presentation and analysis that follows, in the case of a few
questions the enumerators recorded multiple responses, which results in total percentage figures larger than 100% when all responses are tallied. In some questions, the rounding
off of data to whole numbers results in a few cases in which the tallied results equal 101% rather than 100%.Methodological

Caveat: The survey sample represents the extremes of public sentiment, since the vast majority of crowds in the two different gatherings consisted of
people who were sufficiently motivated to devote time and energy in support of their respective political causes. Accordingly, the findings should not be
viewed as representative of the public at large. While all possible steps were taken within the parameters of available time to enhance the rigor of the survey, the sample size achieved was modest and the margin of error in any finding commensurately large. Despite these limitations, the fast estimates obtained may be
considered as indicative of the true values, consistent with the aim of this rapid survey. Notwithstanding the limitations of the sample size and methodology, it is
hoped that the findings of this rapid survey will contribute to an understanding of the
demographics of the political activists in the respective groups and of respondent perspectives on certain issues."

Video: Das Gleichnis vom
verlorenen Sohn (Lukasevangelium 15,11–32) in Südthai (ภาษาตามโพร)"A story of a son who demands his share of his inheritance
while his father is still living. His father allows him to take it, but then
the son wastes it all on his own pleasures. After losing everything, and
having to feed pigs for a living, he decides to return home to work for his
father. The father has so much love for him, that he welcomes him back as a
son, and throws a feast to celebrate his return. This is an allegory of how
much Allah loves each of us."
[Quelle der mp4-Datei: IndigiTube. --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNe8XiFwQ4c. --
Zugriff am 2014-03-19. --
Creative Commons
Lizenz (Namensnennung)]